August 1, 2009
Global Viewpoint
Infrastructure Junkie
In the Hottest Part of the Summer, When I was a Kid, I'd sit at the end of the driveway with a stick and pop tar bubbles as they oozed out from the asphalt....
Features
More Power to Las Vegas
Las Vegas Started as a Dot on the Map in 1911. The first resort casinos were built in the early 1930s and the city's growth took off. As new hotels, casinos,...
The Sky's the Limit for NSTAR's Underground
When Thinking of Distribution Automation, What Enters the Mind are thoughts of pole-mounted overhead circuits, with overhead switches and remote terminal...
Predictive Maintenance Preempts Outages
For More than Five Years, the City of Westerville, Ohio, has maintained a system average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) below 1.75. A four-year...
Energy Usage on Track
Today, Consumers Use Smart Phones While on the Go, wave smart debit cards to make everyday purchases and drive smarter cars. In the electric industry,...
Live-Line Work Evolves in Spain
In the 1960s, the Spanish Regulations for Health and Safety at Work prohibited live-line work on electric installations unless the supply was disconnected...
EDF Regulates Rural Secondary Networks
To Minimise the Investment Required to Maintain the Voltage Within Specified Limits, particularly on low-voltage (LV) networks in sparsely populated areas,...
Business Developments
U.S. DOE Provides Funding for Superconductor Smart Grid Projects
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has provided more than US$12 million in funding to American Superconductor Corp. (www.amsc.com) under the American...
FirstEnergy, Pennsylvania Utilities File Plans to Enhance Energy Efficiency, Conservation
Pennsylvania Power Co., Pennsylvania Electric Co. and Metropolitan Edison Co. have filed plans that, if approved, will help customers reduce energy demand...
UtiliCon Solutions Acquires American Electrical Testing Co.
Asplundh Tree Expert Co. (www.asplundh.com) and its subsidiary UtiliCon Solutions Ltd. (www.utiliconltd.com) have completed a stock acquisition of American...
Drexel University Adopts Viridity Smart Grid System
Drexel University has become the first institution in the country that will deploy Viridity's VPower System energy monitoring system on its main campus,...
Landis+Gyr Signs Advanced Metering Contract with SMUD
Landis+Gyr (www.landisgyr.com) has entered into a contract with Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD; Sacramento, California, U.S.) to supply all...
LAPP Insulators to Sell Distribution Products Business
Lapp Insulators (www.lappinsulator.com) has reached an agreement in principle to sell its NAFTA-based distribution products business to long-time manufacturing...
Technology Updates
ATC Transmission Projects Focus on Renewable Energy Goals for Midwest
American Transmission Co. (ATC; Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S.) has identified various new high-voltage transmission line projects that can help deliver renewable...
Black Hills Corp. to Consolidate and Reinforce System Automation
Black Hills Corp. (BHC; Rapid City, South Dakota, U.S.) has awarded Open Systems International Inc. (www.osii.com) a contract to supply common, SCADA,...
ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION AND SUBSTATION STRUCTURES CONFERENCE
Registration is now open for the Nov. 8-12, 2009 ASCE Electrical Transmission and Substation Structures Conference in Ft. Worth, Texas, U.S. The conference...
PECO Contracts with Enspiria Solutions to Evaluate Smart Meter Technologies
PECO (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.) has selected Enspiria Solutions (www.enspiria.com) to support the utility in looking at smart meter technologies....
Google Selects JEA and Glasgow for PowerMeter Project
JEA (Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.) and the Glasgow Electric Plant Board in Kentucky are among the first smart-metered utilities tapped by Google for its...
Quarterly Report
Collaboration is Key to Smart Grid
Advancing Smart Grid Interoperability and Security Through Standards Adoption fosters innovation and accelerates robust, secure and reliable Smart Grid...
Characters with Character
One World, One Woman
What Do You Get When You Cross a Political Scientist and a Conservationist? The answer is easy: Bianca Barth. A policy officer for the World Future Council...
Products and Services
PRODUCTS & Services
Compass Laser The TruPulse 360 is a pocket-size compass laser that measures slope, horizontal and vertical distance, the degree of inclination and azimuth...
Straight Talk
Micrometers & Mud Puddles
Planning and Implementing An Extra-High Voltage (EHV) Electric Transmission Grid on a national scale are paramount if we are to transform our energy future....
Electric Utility Operations
Rod Kerchal
Born in Imperial, Nebraska. Married to Kati for 27 years and has two sons, R.J. and Justin. He also has a granddaughter, Kelly, and a grandson, Tate....
Crews Use Tool to Extend Life of Transformer Towers
Older tower structures often experience wear and tear due to movement of the static wire hardware. The clevis spins in the wind and eventually wears out,...
Maine Wind Farm Requires Construction of 115-kV Line
Linemen construct 78 new structures to increase line clearance and prepare for future wind farm energy production....
Wildlife Stay Protected During Pole Changeout
Spotting slithering snakes and curious squirrels is nothing new for line crews at South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE Columbia, South Carolina). However,...
Lineman Prepares to Beat Dad's Speed-Climb Record
When it comes to being an AmerenUE lineman, Chet Trent knows he has some big gaffs to fill at the International Lineman's Rodeo, held annually in Bonner...
Parting SHOT
A Pacific Gas and Electric Co. lineman conducts routine maintenance work in San Francisco using one of the utility's hybrid diesel-electric bucket trucks....
Field TALK
Transmission lines wind through environmentally sensitive areas, and endangered species make their homes in utility poles. As a result, many utility companies...
